Dive Brief:

• In an analysis of employment and home-building numbers, the National Association of Realtors found that houses are not being built at the pre-recession rate relative to job creation.
• The U.S. has now gained back 8 million jobs lost during the recession, the group said, and there used to be one new house built for each one and a half jobs created, leaving 32 states and the District of Columbia "underperforming" now.
• The association's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said, "This lack of construction has hamstrung supply and slowed home sales." 

Dive Insight:

There seems to be a cart-and-horse issue with the Realtors' analysis. Builders have not plunged in since the recovery began, not being certain it has sufficient "legs" to supply the needed buyers on an ongoing basis. There also seems to be an assumption that post-recession jobs bring the same ability to buy a home that new jobs once did. The report states, "Limited access to credit for smaller builders, rising construction costs, concerns about the re-emergence of entry-level consumers to the market in the face of student debt and a tight credit box, and the general decline in affordability and purchase power over the last year is causing hesitation among builders." Indeed.